Comparison

WLED+ vs plaiiin Light

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

WLED+

Manage and control WLED devices with an enhanced interface and features. Organize devices, preview effects, and automate preset saving. Optimized for various screen sizes and compatible with WLED v0.13.3+.

Highlights
  • Improved user interface
  • Effect previews
  • Device grouping
  • Layout support for segment configurations
  • Automatic segment gap finding
  • Playlist saving for presets
  • Random preset cycling
Read full description

WLED+ is an independent, modern app for controlling WLED LED strips, matrices, and light installations from your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It talks directly to your devices over your local network. Device control stays local, with no account, no cloud control, and no ad tracking. WHY WLED+ WLED+ is built as a native companion app for WLED, with a polished interface for newcomers and deeper controls for makers. FEATURES - Visual layout editor: see your segments on a canvas, tap to select them, and drag to reshape your strip or matrix. - Live preview: watch your device's real LED colors stream onto the canvas as you edit. - Animated effect previews: see what an effect looks like before you apply it. - Smart segments: automatically fill gaps in your layout or split the largest segment when you add a new one. - Device groups: organize and control multiple devices together. - Presets and playlists: save favorite looks and auto-add new presets to a playlist. - Randomizer: automatically cycle through your presets. - Full control: brightness, colors, palettes, effects, nightlight, and per-segment settings. - Sound-reactive effect support for WLED SR. PRIVACY FIRST No login. Device control stays on your local network. Crash reports are used only to improve reliability and are never sold. Works with WLED and WLED SR firmware v0.13.3 and above, and is optimized for screens of all sizes. Made by an independent husband-and-wife team from Venice, CA. WLED+ is an independent companion app for WLED and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the WLED project; all credit for the firmware goes to the WLED community.

About

plaiiin Light

Features
Read full description

PlaiiinLight is the companion app for PlaiiinLightOS — free, open‑source firmware that turns any ESP32‑based LED lamp into something you shape with a sentence. Describe a pattern in plain words — "a slow aurora," "fire crackling in the corner," "a calm blue breathing glow" — and AI writes an effect that runs right on the lamp. A live in‑app preview shows the result before you push it to the LEDs, so you can iterate without ever touching the hardware. From the dashboard, drive every lamp at a glance — set color and brightness, switch between effects, and tune each one live with on‑screen dials for speed, scale, intensity, and more. Adjust a knob and the lamp responds instantly. Stream an animated GIF straight to the lamp, frame by frame, or write your own effect in JavaScript — Manage your effects it in the app, save it to the lamp, and upload or tweak it anytime. It all runs on the device itself, not in the cloud. Turn your lamp into a pixel canvas — paint, brush, spray and fill tools, live streaming as you draw, photo import, and images you save on the lamp itself to show again anytime. Got more than one lamp? Group them into a swarm and they act as one: a color, an effect, a brightness change or a tap on Off propagates to every member instantly, lamp to lamp over your Wi‑Fi. Add or remove members anytime, and show the whole swarm as a single dashboard tile. Onboard a new PlaiiinLightOS lamp over Bluetooth, then control it over your local Wi‑Fi network. Keeping it current is effortless: the app checks for new firmware, shows a badge and installs the update over the air with one tap — no cables, no computer. Adjust the lamp's settings — name, network, MQTT, and more — right from the app. Share a lamp with family or friends by minting a share key, scanning a QR code, or handing it over via Bluetooth — no re‑pairing, with roles that keep admins, creators, and users apart. Bring your own AI provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google). It's stored only in your device's Keychain — PlaiiinLight has no account to sign up for and no servers of its own. Your lamps, your key, your light.

Screenshots

WLED+4 screens
plaiiin Light4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: WLED+ at fortnightly against plaiiin Light's monthly. WLED+ also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WLED+ ships an update fortnightly, plaiiin Light monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
WLED+ versus plaiiin Light: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWLED+plaiiin Light
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (12 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPixel Heart LLCplaiiin GmbH

In-app purchases

None

WLED+

No in-app purchases

None

plaiiin Light

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WLED+ free?
WLED+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is plaiiin Light free?
plaiiin Light is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do WLED+ or plaiiin Light have ads?
Neither WLED+ nor plaiiin Light shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WLED+ or plaiiin Light?
WLED+ ships an update fortnightly, and plaiiin Light monthly. Most recently, WLED+ was updated on September 19, 2026 and plaiiin Light on October 1, 2026.

Other comparisons